B1 · 2,640 words · Spanish

Diplomacia del Ping-Pong

Nicholas Griffin

In Ping-Pong Diplomacy (2014), journalist and novelist Nicholas Griffin traces the surprising political history of table tennis. The story begins with Ivor Montagu, a British aristocrat who helped found the International Table Tennis Federation in 1926 and later worked for Soviet intelligence. It follows how Mao's China turned the sport into a symbol of national pride, how star players suffered during the Cultural Revolution, and how, in 1971, a chance encounter between American player Glenn Cowan and Chinese champion Zhuang Zedong helped open the door to a thaw between China and the United States.

Get started

Words you’ll meet

The words readers of this text looked up most, each with its meaning and the line it comes from.

el deshielo / el desˈjelo /noun

thaw

El gesto abrió la puerta para un deshielo en las relaciones.

The gesture opened the door for a thaw in relations.

reconciliacióndistensión

convirtió / se komˈbirtjo /verb

became

El tenis de mesa se convirtió en el medio a través del cual se dieron los primeros pasos.

Table tennis became the means through which the first steps were taken.

desempeñaron / de.sem.peˈɲa.ɾon /verb

played

que desempeñaron un papel significativo

that played a significant role

aisladas / aiˈslaðas /adjective

isolated

Ambas naciones habían estado aisladas una de la otra.

Both nations had been isolated from each other.

aisladoaislaraislamiento

la armonía / la aɾˈmo.ni.a /noun

harmony

sino también de su reflejo de la cultura china, encarnando valores como la disciplina, la estrategia y la armonía.

but also of its reflection of Chinese culture, embodying values such as discipline, strategy and harmony.

pazconcordiaentendimiento

goza / ˈɡoθa /verb

enjoys

es un deporte que goza de una popularidad global

is a sport that enjoys global popularity

disfrutarposeertener

paletas / la ˈpa.la /noun

paddles

Jugado en una mesa pequeña con una pelota liviana y paletas.

Played on a small table with a light ball and paddles.

raquetas de ping pongbate

heladas / ˈɾelaθjones ˈeladas /noun

frozen

El tenis de mesa se convirtió en el medio a través del cual se dieron los primeros pasos hacia el deshielo de las relaciones heladas.

Table tennis became the means by which the first steps were taken towards thawing frozen relations.

relaciones diplomáticasguerra fría

no amenazante / no amenasante /adjective

non-threatening

La apelación universal del deporte y su naturaleza no amenazante lo convirtieron en un medio improbable pero efectivo para la Diplomacia del Ping-Pong.

The universal appeal of sport and its non-threatening nature made it an unlikely but effective medium for Ping-Pong Diplomacy.